Future Tank X-1
"Jump? I cannot jump!" :- Future Tank, showing no respect. Too many brave men and women of the Allied Nations gave their lives in the war, in service to their nations, families, and friends. While the Allies may have prevailed against the Soviet Union and the Empire of the Rising Sun, the cost in blood and treasure was extraordinarily high. The Allies and all the nations of the world had to find a way to move past this, while treasuring the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. FutureTech Corporation, the Netherlands-based technology firm behind many of the Allies' most advanced weapons, certainly appeared to be doing its part. After all, FutureTech was hard at work putting the finishing touches on an advanced computer-controlled tank, which promised to revolutionise future warfare both by deterring violent situations and reducing the loss of human life. A public unveiling of the so-called Future Tank prototype was followed by more private trials. The Future Tank was based on proprietary technology developed by FutureTech Corporation, and was to be powered by one of the very same Collider fuel cells used in its most efficient drive trains and power plants. But unlike the other military-grade vehicles in the Allied arsenal, the Future Tank took a few notes from the finest Soviet and Imperial vehicle designs. Specifically, with the Future Tank X-1 prototype, FutureTech Corporation sought to combine its own best expertise with the rugged durability and power of Soviet armour, and the advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.) found only in some of the Empire of the Rising Sun's forces. The result was supposed to have been a marvel of high-tech engineering, an all-terrain vehicle that would achieve the long-sought-after goal of functioning without a live pilot. In theory, the vehicle would truly be capable of operating and "thinking" on its own. Much had already been said on the topic of ethics and artificial intelligence, and FutureTech had anticipated concerns on this front. As the Future Tank was intended to be capable of making decisions without human intervention, and was possess some of the most powerful anti-armour weapons ever made, FutureTech had already outlined plans for precautions and safety measures taken to ensure the Future Tank's compliance with international regulations. For starters, both Allied High Command and FutureTech Corporation were to possess instant-access codes that would allow them to permanently disable one or all Future Tank units in a situation where such a drastic action became necessary. More importantly, Future Tanks were to be programmed with a clear set of directives that they would have to obey at all times, which would limit their use of lethal force only to situations in which they are significantly threatened, and prevent Future Tanks from crossing international borders without prior approval. These directives were co-developed by the administrators of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the FutureTech Board of Directors, and councilmen from Allied High Command, under supervision from a third-party international council for ethical software development, and were to be programmed into the Future Tank's processor. At any rate, FutureTech Corporation claimed that the Future Tank would be far less fallible when it came to combat-related judgment calls than human beings are. Future Tanks were to have friend-or-foe designation that would all but eliminate friendly-fire incidents, and would be naturally immune to battlefield stress and fatigue. It sounded unbelievable, and it was. Apart from the sheer, ridiculous, expense that building even one Future Tank would require, the main problem was the processor. The furthest they were able to get with the processor was to get it to engage in conversation, and even there it was noted to have a rather gruff personality. Writing the software code proved a mammoth task, and one which FutureTech had little experience in. FutureTech ran into roadblock after roadblock, and when the Allied Nations, frustrated with the ridiculous amount of money being wasted, cut off funding, FutureTech had no choice but stop production, after only one Future Tank had been constructed. Behind the Scenes * The X-1 Future Tank, as with any Uprising Unit, will not feature in the game. * According to Wikipedia, EA may have put the Future Tank X-1 as a reference to the ED-209 of RoboCop. * The used design resembles the T-1 series from Terminator 3. Category:Lore